Steven Raichlens Brined Chicken Breasts Recipes

Steps:

• Rinse chicken under cold, running water and blot dry with paper towels. Arrange in a nonreactive baking dish.
• Make the brine: Place the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, chili pepper and bay leaves in a large, nonreactive bowl. Add the hot water, then whisk until the salt and brown sugar dissolve; stir in the cold water. Let brine come to room temperature.
• Pour over the chicken and stir in the lemon slices, onion and garlic. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let stand in the refrigerator for 2 hours, turning the chicken once or twice.
• Preheat the grill until coals are hot. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grate.
• Arrange the breasts on the hot grate, all facing the same direction, at a 45-degree angle to the bars of the grate.
• Cook the chicken over high heat, 4 to 6 minutes per side, rotating the breasts 90 degrees after 2 minutes on each side to create an attractive crosshatch of grill marks. (To test for doneness, remove a breast from the grill and poke the thickest part with your finger. It should feel firm to the touch.)
• Transfer the chicken to a decorative platter and serve.

Steps:

• In a spice grinder, blitz the bay leaf pieces and peppercorns until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and add the salt, brown sugar and garlic powder, and rub it all together with your fingers.
• Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise into two pieces of equal weight, creating one shorter, thicker piece and one longer, thinner piece. Place the four chicken pieces on a large plate or sheet pan and sprinkle generously on all sides with the spice mixture, moving the chicken around to catch any fallen spices. Refrigerate, uncovered, to dry-brine for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour (any shorter and the osmotic brining process won't complete; any longer and you'll end up with deli meat).
• When ready to cook, take the chicken out of the fridge and heat a large skillet with a lid over high heat. Add enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of the skillet. Carefully add the chicken pieces, smooth sides down, and immediately reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the bottoms are browned but not burnt, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip the chicken, cover the pan and cook until the other sides are browned and the internal temperature at the thickest part of the meat reaches 155 degrees, another 5 to 7 minutes. You may want to pull the longer, thinner pieces off the heat a minute or two sooner, as they may cook faster.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest for at least 10 minutes so the juices can redistribute. The meat will continue to cook as it sits and should reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. You can also check for doneness by cutting into the chicken; it should look white and juicy and no longer pink. Slice the chicken against the grain (that is, perpendicular to the parallel fibers that run within the breast) and serve with lime wedges if you'd like. You can also keep the meat whole and refrigerate it, covered, for up to 4 days.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in upper third.
• Mince and mash garlic to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt, then transfer to a bowl. Stir in oregano, red-pepper flakes, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Cut a 2-inch-long pocket (about 1 1/2 inches deep) horizontally in side of each breast half and spread 1/2 teaspoon garlic mixture into each pocket. Coat chicken with remaining garlic mixture.
• Roast chicken, skin sides up, in a foil-lined large shallow baking pan until just cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Prepare grill.
• On a work surface spread prosciutto slices evenly with mustard. Top slices with basil leaves and sprinkle evenly with mozzarella. Starting with a short end roll up each prosciutto slice.
• Pat chicken dry and put on a work surface, skinned sides down. Remove "tender" (fillet strip located on either side of where breast bone was) from each breast half, keeping rest of chicken breast intact, and reserve tenders for another use. (There should be 1 tender from each breast half.)
• To form a long thin pocket in chicken for prosciutto roll: Put chicken breast halves on cutting board and, beginning at thicker end of breast half, horizontally insert a thin sharp knife three fourths of the way through center of each. Open cut to create a 1-inch-wide pocket in each half. Fit a prosciutto roll into each pocket and season chicken with salt and pepper.
• Grill chicken on a lightly oiled rack set 5 to 6 inches over glowing coals until cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side. (Alternatively, chicken may be grilled in a hot well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately low heat.)